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I managed to go to a single convention before our lives were turned upside-down by the COVID-19 pandemic. I expect to be more or less isolated, at least until the end of this year, as I am in the group with higher risk of complications if I catch the virus.

During the isolation I had expected to watch more films and TV series, but following the news and building some electronics projects has taken more time than I expected. Here is the list for January to April 2020:

As someone in the rather vulnerable group I have, essentially been in isolation for a week now. Not quite, because this week I had appointments at the hospital for a blood test and subsequent CT-scan, as part of the follow-up on a cancer I had treated – successfully – in 2018.

Since I was out, I did go to the pharmacy, too, just to get supplies of medicine I have been using regularly, especially a means to reduce the effects of pollen allergies.

This crisis may take longer than we might expect. For me, at least, I will hesitate to venture much out into the world (or even in my own country), until we have seen and tested a successful treatment or a vaccine is available.

What does that mean to me? I am fortunate enough to have retired, so there is no **need** to go out much. I can get food supplies and other necessities delivered to my door. Even then, I should be careful not to be infected from the delivery people. The most essential company has already made more cautious procedures in that respect.

Here is the thing for me. I am generally used to living on my own, and have not gone out among people a lot. Yes, sometimes I have gone for a larger event, but that is all on hold now.

Well, there is enough to keep me occupied. I have a large collection of books, audios and videos, that are unread/un-watched/un-listened-to.

With a garden that needs at least a minimum of tending there is more to do.

One other interest that is good in my isolated situation is access to social media and other information on the Internet, and my interest in building electronic circuits. Yes, I am into amateur radio, have been for over 50 years, and that also gives some nice social contacts. Even before this crisis I have had more than enough to do.

So if I can avoid getting infected I will get through that crisis. Others may not be so fortunate.

To everyone in doubt: If you are an essential part of health care and other necessary functions, take all possible precautions to stay healthy. Many others should be working from home, if at all possible, and so help reducing the spread of the virus. Those of us who are vulnerable due to age or previous sickness, stay home if at all possible, and help in any way you can, those who need it.

We will all need to stand together (with a distance) to get through this. If we do, most of us will be there on the other side, if not, we will see much fewer people succeeding.

Further, after some days with only bad news, I am now starting to see some better news on this situation. Sometimes simple things like people assisting as possible, up to the first human tests of possible treatments or vaccines. One example was that someone had made an open-source version of a simple ventilator for the worst hit patients, capable of being made with a 3D printer. We will need everyone who has skills to alleviate the problems ahead of us.

I am therefore cautiously optimistic.

Next post will hopefully be more related to the main theme of this blog, but I am sure there will be updates in between posts.

So now I wish you all good health and hope you will get over this crisis in a good way, and thank you for your patience.

After a pause in binge watching of Babylon 5, I re-started, because I expect to meet with a lot of other B5 fans soon.

I just finished the first season, and I will say that I still do not understand the people calling Michael O’Hare’s acting “wooden”. It may be a bit understated, but at times, just a facial expression tells more than many words.

While season 1 is not the strongest of the series, it serves very well for setting up the story, and a great introduction to the main characters, and a glimpse of what is to come.

Here is an example: The much maligned episode TKO has one of the really strong character moments for Ivanova. I know that many skip the episode, but then they miss out on this excellent character moment, and a follow up to a small thread from a previous episode.

This is my first Pratchett book. I have been recommended to read (in this case listen to) Terry Pratchett from several people. Now I got started.

Mort is a story in the Disc World series. (Audio book).

Mort, a young boy is searching for an apprenticeship, as he is at the coming-of-age stage in his life. There is a special day for that in his society. All of the day passes, and he still has not found it. Just before the end of the day, he is approached by an odd looking person. Yes, it turns out to be Death, wanting an apprentice.

Of course, not everything is as expected, Death has a daughter, and an assistant. After a while Mort is sent out to do Death’s work, and, of course his humanity is getting in the way.

In the end, he actually does get a second chance for life.

I like the quirky humour of Pratchett, it is not hilarious, making me laugh out loud, but it often gives me a chuckle.

I do want to get a bit more into Pratchett’s work, given the time to do it, and I will rate Mort at:

I have now watched 4 seasons of Gotham, available on Netflix here. I have heard that there is a season 5, but it is not available, at least not now.

Gotham covers the development of Bruce Wayne and other characters from the time of the murder of his parents.

The series is quite fun to watch, the proto-villains are outrageously over-the-top. All are absolutely mad in a very cartoon-ish way. I wonder if a title like “City of Lunatics” should be considered for the series.

The development of Jim Gordon is probably the most well covered aspect of the series, I have considered if the series should have been called the “Jim Gordon” show.

While I have no plans for re-watching this series (there is far too much good stuff out there), I did enjoy watching it.

Re-watch:
Lord of the Rings (theatrical versions):
1) Fellowship of the Ring. Lots of material from the book is missing. The shifting mood of the books are mostly retained, and well done.
8/10
2) The Two Towers
Lots of good stuff from the books is missing
7/10
3) The Return of the King.
Again good stuff from the books missing, but still has the emotional effect. Maybe because I know the books so well.
9/10
Still rating the theatrical releases as a whole:
8/10

While traveling earlier this year, I have been listening to the Lord of the Rings book trilogy on audio. Excellent reading by Rob Ingliss.
Further, because they were available on Netflix, recently I re-watched the three movies of the theatrical releases.
Previously I have watched the extended editions, too, but they are not in my recent memory.

Here is my impressions of the releases, for the moment:

I have loved the books since I first read them, first in Danish, then in English. This happened in the 1980s, and for a while I read all three books every year or two.
This means that when I first saw the films at their release around 2000, I could easily compare the films and the books, in relation to what was included in the films, and what was changed.
While I can understand the need to remove some parts of the books in order to fit the rather massive story into about 3×3 hours, it does result in some flaws in the films. Here are a few examples:

From the first film/book: Fellowship of the Ring:
– when I first saw the movie, I was wondering if I had missed a part of it. The hobbits were fleeing the Black Rider, crossing the Brandywine river in the ferry boat, and suddenly they were at the gate in Bree. No unmasking of the “conspiracy”, no Old Forest, no Tom Bombadil, and no finding their weapons in the Barrow Downs.
I might have accepted missing Tom Bombadil, but the swords found at the Barrow Downs are significant at a later stage: The sword that Merry receives at that point is the one that can destroy a ring wraith. Now this just happens with no explanation at all. It is not even mentioned in Rivendell, where Elrond *could* have explained the significance of the sword.
– I can accept the merging of the characters of Glorfindel and Arwen, if only for the Arwen/Aragorn part of the story. Also, it does not really detract from the main story.
– also, though it is kind of spoilery, I can accept the beginning of the movie, providing the back story of the Ring.

From Book 2: The Two Towers:
– parts of the orc hunt and Merry and Pippin’s experience with the orcs and Treebeard have been cut, but it does work.
– The arrival of the elves at Helm’s Deep was confusing, having read the books, but I can see that it would not be so, if someone is watching the films alone.

From Book 3: Return of the King:
– Elrond coming to see Aragorn at Helm’s Deep is a change that becomes rather inconsistent with the books, and made little sense to me.
– A large part of the story is completely missing, especially there is absolutely nothing about meeting Saruman on the way home, and having to deal with him in the Shire when they arrive home. Everything is just unchanged when they return to the Shire. I consider this a significant part of the story, because it shows how the hobbits have grown since the start of their journey.
These are just examples of changes to the story, there is much more, but it will have to do for now.

Did I enjoy the films? YES! I did, they still have excellent changes form the beautiful to the horrific, just like the books. The landscapes they film in are magnificent (I would like to visit some of those places). The moods in the films are excellent, as are the vast majority of the characters.

I still find that the films have a strong emotional effect. Maybe this is because I know the books so well.
I love the cinematography and the music used, and I am aware that the films could not have been made at all before their time, because the technology to make the effects did not exist.